Savings bank



A. N. SMITH 1,884,314

SAVINGS BANK Oct. 25, 1932.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. '7, 1929 B W ,L W

A TORNEYS Cir Patented Oct. 25, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ANTHONY IN. SMITH, OF GIRARD, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOB TO THE GIEARD MODEL WORKS INC., E GIRARD', PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA SAVINGS BANK Application filed September 7, 1929. Serial No. 391,067.

This invention relates to savings banks and more particularly to coin registering banks.

The primary object of the present invention resides in the provision of an exceedingly simple coin savings bank which will register the total of the coins deposited, and which at the same time is Constructed from a minimum number of parts so that it may be manufactured economically and marketed at a very low price.

More specifically, my invention resides in the provision of a coin savings bank com prising a container provided with a coin slot, indexing means, and means whereby the indexing means is moved or indexed directly by a deposited coin during its passage from the coin slot into the container.

A further object of my invention is to provide such a savings bank with a door which normally is locked but which is automatically opened when thedeposited savings reach a predetermined desired total.

Still further objects of this inventlon are to adapt the savings bank, if desired, for

the deposit of coins of different denomination, and to increase, if desired, the magmtude of the total savings which may be accommodated by the bank, and to accomplish these objects without unduly complicatlng the structure of the bank.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and such other objects as will hereinafter appear, my invention consists in the bank and registering elements and their relation one to the other, as hereinafter are more particularly described in the specification and sought to be defined in the claims. The specification is accompanied by drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a savings bank embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a partially sectioned elevation of the same Fig. 3 is a detail section taken on the line in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the cover and associated mechanism of the savings bank in inverted position;

Fig. 5 is a detailed section taken on the plane of the line 55 in Fig. .1;

Fig. 6 is a partially sectioned plan View of a modified savings bank embodying further features of my invention;

Fig. 7 is an arcuate elevational section taken in the plane of the line 77 in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a section taken in the plane of the line 88 in Fig. 6;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary plan view of the cover and associated door mechanism in inverted position;

Fig. 10 is similar to Fig. 9 but illustrates a later phase in the operation of the door releasing mechanism; and

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of the actuator C shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The underlying features of my invention are embodied in the comparatively simple form thereof which is illustrated in Figs. 1 through 5 of the drawings. Referring to these figures it will be observed that the savings bank of my invention comprises a container A, a slot B for the deposit of coins in the savings bank, an actuator C for causing registration of the deposited coin, an indexing wheel D for registering the total of the savings within the bank, and a door and associated mechanism E for the removal of the deposited coins. A coin is deposited in the slot B, whereupon it drops into engagement with the teeth of the indexing disc D. The actuator G is moved, moving the coin and with it the disc D, thereby properly changing the registration of the disc, after which the coin is allowed to fall into the container A. When a desired total has been deposited the door E is automatically opened, and the accumulated coins may be removed.

Considering the bank mechanism more in detail, the container A preferably, though not necessarily, takes the form of a shallow cylinder of relatively large diameter and of correspondingly reduced length. It is most simply formed by providing a dished or panshaped body 2 and a cover 4, the latter being fixed to the former by being suitably bent or crimped over the edge thereof, as is best illustrated at 6 in Figs. 2 and 3.

On top of the cover plate 4, and near one edge thereof there is mounted a rectangular housing 8, this being attached to the cover plate 4 by tongue and slot joints 10, best shown'in Fig. 2. The housing 8 is provided with a slot B which is of suitable dimension to just accommodate the coin for which the bank is designed. The cover plate 4 within the housing 8 is struck down to form a depending support 12, the horizontal flange or supporting surface of which is located directly beneath the slot B, thereby functioning to receive and support a coin depositedin the slot.

The actuator C is reciprocably mounted in the-housing 8, and as is best shown in Fig. 11, consists of a pair of finger pieces 14 and 16 formed at opposite ends of a strip 18, which is guided in appropriate slots formed in the opposite end walls of the housing 8 shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The strip 18 is bent intermediate its ends to form the side wall 20, the end of wall 21, and the side wall 22 of a coin chute, the upper and lower edges of the walls 20 and 22 beingbent or flanged as at 24, so that it is impossible to deposit a coin in the slot B except when the actuator C is in the extreme position illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, at which time the slot and chute are in alinement. When a coin is deposited in the slot it falls through the chute of the actuator C and rests upon the support 12, (see Figs. 2 and 3) after which the actuator C may be manually reciprocated toward the other extreme of its permitted travel, which is so adjusted that it provides proper registration on the indexing wheel, that is, the wheel is rotated one full tooth, and at the termination of its travel the coin, having then been moved sideways past the support 12, falls into the container.

The index wheel D consists simply of a fiat disc which is rotatably mounted on the cover plate 4 by means of a rivet 32, the latter preferably, though not necessarily, being displaced relative to the center of the cover plate 4, in the manner illustrated in the drawings, in order to reduce the size of the container. The disc 30 has its periphery stamped into a number of'radial teeth 34, the metal from the spaces between the teeth preferably being bent rather than completely cut away, so as to form teeth of U-shaped cross-section, thereby adding to their rigidity and strength. The metal is bent downwardly, first, in order that the disc 30 may rest flush against the underside of the cover plate 4, and, second, in order to make it possible to utilize the teeth 34-for a ratcheting effect obtainedby striking indentations or depressions 36 in the cover plate 4. The disc 30 is inscribed with suitable index numerals 88, which correspond to the number of teeth on the periphery of the disc. In the present case the bank is a penny savings bank, and the disc is provided with 100 teeth, while the index readings run from one cent to a dollar, as is clearly indicated on the drawings. The reading of the index wheel may be observed through a sight window 40 out through the cover plate 4.

The door mechanism E may assume a number of forms, but in the present case has been illustrated as comprising an oscillatable segment 42 of a disc, which may be pivoted on the pivot 82 about which the indexing disc 30 rotates. The door 42 consists of a flat portion 44, which rests flush against the underside of the index disc 30, then of a bridged portion 46 (see Figs. 2, 4, and 5) and finally of an effective door portion 48, which rests flush against the underside of the cover plate 4. The cover plate is cut away at 50 to form a'door opening, and a portion 'of the metal is depressed, as at 52, to form a guide railwithin which the outer peripheral edge of the door 42 slides. 'Another portion of the metal from the door is bent downwardly to form a wedge-shaped locking member 54, having a recess 64, best shown in Figs. 4 and 5, which is received just inside the outer edge of the bridged portion 46 of the door 42.

The bridged portion 46 is slotted in a radial direction to form a slot 56 within which-one end 58' of a hair pin shaped spring 60 is nested. The other branch of the spring 60 rests against the depending support 12. The tension of the U-shaped spring 60 is such that the legs of the U, tend to come together, thereby tending to slide the door 42 open. The leg 58 of. the spring is caused to serve the additional function of locking the door in its closed'position. To this end the wire 58 is so held by lugs 62, struck from the door 42, that the wire tends to lie flush along the door portion 44. When the door 42 is moved to its closed position the wire 58 rides upon the inclined surface ofthe locking member 54 until it arrives at a point above the recess 64, whereupon it snaps into the depression and locks the door in closed position. To move the door to its closed position it is provided with an upstanding lug or finger piece 66 (see Figs. 1 and 5) which is readily accessible from outside the bank.

The indexing disc 30 has struck up therefrom an inclined tooth 70, which is so positioned radially that it rides within the bridged portion 46 of the door 42. Its height is such-that in passing the wire 58 it moves the latter downwardly suificiently to release the wire from the recess in the locking 1nem- M ber 54, whereupon the hair pin tension of the spring 60 snaps the door 52 to its open position. Obviously, the tooth 70 is so located around the periphery of the disc, with relation to'the indexing thereon, that the door is snapped open when a desired total of savings has been deposited.

In operation, the actuator C is moved to the retracted position wherein the chute 20,

one tooth, thereby adding one cent to the registered total. As the actuator reaches the end of its motion the penny rides past the support 12 and drops into the bank. This operation may be repeated until the indexing M wheel has made a complete revolution. Thus,

" in the present case, when the savings reach one dollar the door is opened and the coins may beremov ed, the door closed, and savings begun anew.

Obviously, by a slight alteration in dimension a similar bank may be arranged for the deposit of nickels, or dimes, orquarters, and, if desired, a number of teeth other than 100 may be employed.

It is possible to increase the total savings accommodated by the bank by utilizing a train of registering wheels instead of merely a single wheel. It is also possible to so arrange the bank that it will accommodate coins of different denominations. These features are both embodied in the form of savings bank which I have illustrated in Figs. 6 through 10.

Referring to these figures,the bank consists, as before, of a preferably pan-shaped container A, provided in this case with a plurality of coin deposit slots B, B, B, an actuator C, a train of index wheels D and D, and a door E. As before, the actuator C is first moved to proper position to permit of the deposit of a coin, but in this case precaution must be taken to aline the actuator with the correct one of the several coin slots. After the coin has been deposited the actuator C is moved to the extreme of its travel, it thereby moving the indexing wheel an amount commensurate with the denomination of the coin deposite'd,and finally permitting the coin to fall'into the container A. Full revolutions of the first indexing disk D cause a partial revolution of the second disc D, While a full revolution-of the disc D opens the door E and permits withdrawal of the savings.

' As in the bank previously described the con 1 55 tainer A may consist simply of a pan-shaped member 2 to which a cover plate 4 is alfixed by suitably crimping the edges, as at 6.

' The'slots B, B, and B are cut into an arcuately shaped housing 108, beneath which the metal of the cover plate 4 is cut away and depressed to form a supporting member 110, which serves not only to support the deposited coins, but, owing to its configuration, urges them toward the periphery of the disc and into engagement with the teeth thereon,

despite variations in the diameter of the coins.

upright chute 120. The arrangement is such that when the finger piece 114 is moved to ward the housing 108 as far as it will go, the chute 120 beingstopped in the present case by coming into contact with the end wall of the housing 108, the coin carried by the chute is moved past the adjacent end of the support 110 and therefore is permitted to drop into the bank. The penny slot B is located the distance of one tooth away from the end of the housing, the nickle slot B is located a distance of five teeth away from the housing,-and the dime slot B is located a distance of ten teeth away from the end of the housing.

The indexing wheel D in this case is quite similar to that described in the first form of savings bank, and need not be described in detail. It similarly is provided with peripheral teeth 134, which serve both for movement of the indexing wheel, and to lock it in position by cooperation with detent indentations 136. It also carries cent index markings 138, which may be viewed through a sight window 140.

The dollar wheel D in this case reads up to five dollars and consists merely of a small disc 142 provided with five teeth 144, and five ratchet indentations 145 which cooperate with mating indentations 146 in the cover plate 4. One of the teeth of the index wheel D carries a projecting pin 148 which after each full revolution of the index wheel D, bears against the teeth 144 of the dollar wheel D and moves it one-fifth of a revolution for each revolution of the cent wheel D. In the present design a movement of the centwheel D equivalent to the deposit of several cents is needed to obtain the full one-fifth rotation of the dollar Wheel D, and for this reason a number of successive similar markings are, as is shown in Fig. 6, provided for each dollar value on the dollar wheel. The ratchet of the dollar wheel is effective during the balance, that is nearly all, of the revolution of the cent wheel. The reading of the dollar wheel may be observed through a sight window 150, which is properly alined and located relative to the sight window 140 so that the entire the flange 17 2 and then begins to moveback against the pressure of the spring 174, as

the dollar wheel continues to rotate, this conditlon being illustrated in F 1g. 10. When the dollar wheel arrives nearly at the total A of five dollars the wire 170 is caught in a hook-shaped recess 176, cut into the leading side of the appropriate one of the teeth 14A. Sli ht further movement of the dollar wheel D to the five dollar or Zero mark forces the bolt 162 against spring 164 to its unlocked position and the door is thereupon released. A slight slope of the flange 172 will cause it to automatically snap the door open. At the same time the spring 174 snaps the wire 170 forward again, so that it is cleared completely out of the way of the door opening.

In operation .it is merely necessary to preliminarily move the actuator C tothe proper position to aline the chute 120 with that coin slot designed to accommodate the coin about to be deposited. To facilitate this the cover plate 4 may be marked with arrows 180 and coin denominations 182 so that the actuator C may readily be positioned at the proper place before inserting the coin.

If the chute is left in the wrong position a coin deposited in the slot cannot get into the bank and either will prevent movement will fall freely into the housing and there stay unless it is forced by the actuator, or'

by itself falls out of one end of the housing. The actuator may embody, if desired, an upper surface, equivalent to the flanges 24 in the first form of bank, to positively prevent the insertion of a coin into a coin slot unless the coin chute is properly alined therewith.

After the coin is deposited in theslot the actuator is moved clockwise to its extreme position, and during'this movement the coin moves the cent wheel with it, and finally drops into the container of the bank. Complete rotations of the cent wheel are trans mitted to the dollar wheel'and a complete rotation of the dollar wheel opens the door E and permits the accumulated savings to be withdrawn.

Obviously, the feature permittingthe use of coins of different denomination may be employed with only a single indexing disc, that is, discD may, if desired, be omitted fromthe'second form shown. The extra in+ dexingdisc D may be employed even though the bank is designed to accommodate only a single coin, that is, it may be added to the first form shown. To those skilled in the art, it will also be obvious that the train of indexing discs may include more than the two discs specifically shown, and various combinations of coin denominations may be provided for by suitable alterations in the dimensions and index markingsof the bank.

It will therefore be apparent that While I have shown and described my invention in the preferred forms, many changes and modifications may be made in the structures disclosed; without departing from the spirit of the invention, defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A coin savings bank comprising a coin container, a cover closing the same, an indexing disc pivoted directly to the cover, a sight window in the cover for observing the registration of the disc, said disc being provided with teeth around the outer periphery thereof, a housing mounted on top of the cover between the periphery of the disc and the periphery of the container and having a coin slot, said cover having an opening beneath the housing, an actuator re'ciprocable in said housing and including a coin chute, and a coin support subjacent the housing for holding a coin deposited in the slot and chute in en agement with the teeth of the disc, whereby movement of the actuator moves the coin and disc to change the registration thereof, until the coin rides off the end of the support and falls into the container.

. 2. A coin savings bank comprising a coin container, a cover closing the same, an indexing disc pivoted directly to the cover with its center in offset relation to the center of the cover, a sight window in the cover for observing the registration of the disc, said disc being provided with teeth around the periphery thereof, a housing mounted on top of the cover between the periphery ofthe disc and the periphery ofthe container at a point opposite to the direction of offset of the disc, said housing having a coin slot, said cover having an opening beneath the housing, an actuator reciprocable in said housing and including a coin chute, and a coin support subjacent the housing for holding a coin deposited-in the slot and chute in engagement with the teeth of the disc, whereby movement of the actuator moves the coin and disc to change the registrationthereof, untilthe coin falls into the container.

3. Acoin savings bank comprising a shallow pan-shapedcontainer, a cover closing the same, a fiat indexing disc pivoted directly to the cover, a sight" window in the cover for observing the registration of the disc, said disc being provided. with teeth around the periphery thereof, a housing mounted on top of the cover between the periphery of the disc and the'periphery of the container and having a coin slot, and an actuator reciprocable in said housing and including a coin chute, the cover subj acent the housing being struck downwardly to form a depending coin support, whereby a coin deposited in the slot and chute is held in engagement with the teeth of the disc, and movement of the actuator moves the coin and disc to change the registration thereof, until the coin rides off the end of the support and falls into the container.

4. A coin savings bank comprising a shallow pan-shaped or dished container, a fixed cover closing the same, a flat sheet metal indexing disc pivoted directly to the cover in offset relation thereto, a sight window inv the cover forobserving the registration of the disc, said disc being provided with teeth around the periphery thereof, a housing mounted on top of the cover between the periphery of the disc and the periphery of the container and having a coin slot, an actuator reciprocable in said housing and including a coin chute, the cover subjacent the housing being struck downwardly to form a depending coin support, whereby a coin deposited in the slot and chute is held in engagement with the teeth of the disc, and movement of the actuator moves the coin and disc to change the registration thereof, until the coin rides off the end of the support and falls into the container,a door in said container, and means operated by said disc for opening the door after a predetermined total has been de posited.

5. A coin savings bank comprising a coin container, a cover closing the same, a flat indexing disc, a sight window in the cover for observing the registration of the disc, said disc being provided with teeth around the periphery thereof, a housing on said cover having a plurality of coin slots adapted to respectively receive coins of different denominations, an actuator reciprocable beneath said slots and having only a single coin chute, said cover having an opening beneath the housing, and a coin support for holding a coin deposited in one of the slots and the chute in engagement with the teeth of the disc, movement of the actuator serving to move the coin and disc to change the registration thereof an amount commensurate with its denomination, until the coin is freed from the support and falls into the container.

6. A coin savings bank comprising a coin container, a cover closing the same, a flat indexing disc pivoted to the cover, a sight window in the cover for observing the registration of the disc, said disc being provided with teeth around the periphery thereof, a housing mounted. on top of the cover between the periphery of the disc and the periphery of the container, said housing having a plurality of coin slots adapted to respectively receive coins of different denominations, said cover having an opening beneath the housing,

an actuator reciprocable in said housing and including a single coin chute, and a coin support subjacent the housing, whereby a coin deposited in one of the slots and the chute is held in engagement with the teeth of the disc, and movement of the actuator moves the coin and disc to change the registration thereof an amount commensurate with its denomination, until the coin falls into the container.

7. A coin savings bank comprising a shallow pan-shaped container, a cover closing the same, a flat indexing disc pivoted directly to the cover, a sight window in the cover for observing the registration of the disc, said disc being provided with teeth around the periphery thereof, a housing mounted on top of the cover between the periphery of the disc and the periphery of the container, said housing having a plurality of coin slots adapted to respectively receive coins of difierent denominations, and an actuator recip rocable in said housing and including a single coin chute, the cover subjacent the housing being struck downwardly to form a depending coin support, whereby a coin deposited in one of the slots and the chute is held in engagement with the teeth of the disc, and movement of the actuator moves the coin and disc to change the registration thereof an amount commensurate with its denomination, until the coin rides off the end of the support and falls into the container.

8. A coin savings bank comprising a shallow pan-shaped or dished container, a fixed cover closing the same, a flat sheet metal indexing disc pivoted directly to the cover in offset relation thereto, a sight window in the cover for observing the registration of the disc, said disc being provided with teeth around the periphery thereof, a housing mounted on top of the cover between the periphery of the disc and the periphery of the container, said housing having a plurality of coin slots adapted to respectively receive coins of different denominations, an actuator reciprocable in said housing and including a single coin chute, the cover subjacent the housing being struck downwardly to form a depending coin support, whereby a coin deposited in one of the slots and the chute is held in engagement with the teeth of the disc, and movement of the actuator moves the coin and disc to change the registration thereof an amount commensurate with its denomination, until the coin rides off the end of the support and falls into the container, a door in said container, and means operated by said disc for opening the door after a predetermined total has been deposited.

Signed at Girard, Pennsylvania, in the county of Erie and State of Pennsylvania, this fourth day of September, A. D. 1929.

ANTHONY N. SMITH. 

